Worth It
by Heart Full of Elves
Summary: Jack comes home after the Earth has been put back where it belongs. Missing scene from Journey's End.


**Note: I was so angry that there wasn't a reunion scene that I had to write one myself. It didn't end up how I imagined it, as I'd intended to have Ianto's feelings included in this, but only Jack's made it onto the page. Maybe someday I'll rewrite this from Ianto's POV.**

* * *

The Doctor had disabled Jack's vortex manipulator so that he couldn't teleport again, which meant that he was stranded in London. It didn't take him long for him to ask Martha if she had a car he could borrow, and for her to organise a driver for him, to take him back to Cardiff. She took him to the UNIT vehicle and they said their farewells standing a few paces away from it.

"I guess this is goodbye," she said. "It was nice seeing you again, Jack, even in these circumstances."

"What, saving the world? That's just our everyday jobs," he argued with a grin.

Martha laughed. "Take care," she smiled. "Oh, I have something for you." She put a package in his hands. "I had to manipulate a few people, but I got it in the end. I hope you enjoy it," she smirked.

He winked, and tucked it inside his coat. He knew exactly what it was. "Thanks, Martha," he said, and pulled her in for a kiss.

She kissed back for a few seconds, then pulled back. "I'm engaged, you know. You should behave yourself!" she scolded, but there was no sign of anger or irritation on her pretty face.

"Never," he replied, and this time gave a chaste kiss on the cheek. Then he opened the car door and got inside. "Goodbye, Martha Jones. I'll see you again. And I mean what I said about the job."

She shook her head. "It's tempting, but I couldn't leave UNIT. Goodbye, Jack." She saluted him.

He saluted her back just before he closed the car door and was driven back to Wales.

* * *

He used the invisible lift, surveying the damage from high above as he was slowly lifted down into the hub.

Two Welsh voices called, "Jack?" and "Jack!"

As soon as he got off the platform, he was almost pushed over when Gwen ran up and hugged him so tight he couldn't breathe. Not that that was a major issue for Jack Harkness. He wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She nodded. "I'm fine. _We're_ fine."

He let her go, and the next thing he knew he was enveloped by a pair of stronger, more manly arms. "Ianto," he breathed, and held the young man close. After a long moment of revelling in the fact that he was _home_, he pulled back a bit and gave Ianto a deep, passionate kiss. Then he let the man go and told his team, "I'm home! Told you I'd be back, didn't I?"

"We didn't doubt it," said Ianto.

"What's important is that you kept your word." Gwen wrapped her arms around Jack and Ianto, pulling them in for a group hug. "So what happened after we disconnected?"

Jack shook his head. "I'll tell you tomorrow, when we'll begin cleaning up. What did the two of you do to the place?" he teased, looking at all the damage. There was dust and rubble and broken things everywhere. The hub was fairly wrecked.

"It wasn't our fault!" Gwen spluttered.

Jack laughed. "I know. Anyway, you go home and make sure Rhys is okay. I'm sure he's been worried sick about you."

"I know," she replied. "He's tried calling but my phone kept dying, so I'd better go. See you tomorrow." With a kiss on both Jack and Ianto's cheeks, she left the hub and went home.

"Cleaning up is going to be fun," Ianto grumbled.

"Yeah, but at least we're alive," said Jack. "That's the main thing, isn't it?"

"True. So what now?"

"I was thinking we could go back to your place," Jack suggested, "since everything here is a mess."

"Sounds like a plan." Hand in hand, they went to Ianto's apartment.

* * *

That evening, they lay back on Ianto's couch, pizza boxes on the coffee table in front of them. Saving the world was a difficult job, and made one awfully hungry afterwards. Jack snuggled up to Ianto, pressing a kiss on his nose. This was his reward for stopping a Dalek invasion: the knowledge that the people he loved were alive and safe and well.

Jack turned so he was facing Ianto, and they kissed slow and deep for a long time. In Ianto's arms, Jack was home. He smiled against the younger man's lips; saving the world, going through the dark times, it was worth it as long as he could come home to people like Ianto Jones. He remembered Suzie saying that life is all, and he knew now that she was right. All the shit, all the loss and uncertainty was worth it, as long as he had people to love and people to love him in return.

Jack stopped the kiss for a moment. "Before I forget," he said, digging something out of his coat, "Martha gave me this."

Ianto looked at the red UNIT cap and slowly met Jack's eyes. Jack waggled his eyebrows; Ianto raised his. There was a pause, and then they burst out laughing.

Ianto's laugh was worth it.


End file.
